True Leaf Market’s roots go back to 1974, when our founder Demetrios Agathangelides started Mountain Valley Seed Company. Mountain Valley Seeds was originally a mail-order seed company focused on providing seeds to those in the Intermountain West. It has since expanded to include more seeds, including traditional heirlooms, organic options, sprouting seeds, microgreen seeds, wheatgrass, growing supplies, bulbs, and more!
While we have certainly grown since our roots were established, our mission has remained steady. We want everyone to experience the joy of growing. Whether you have space for a container garden or have acres of land to fill, you can call yourself a grower and gardener.
Demetrios “Demo” Agathangelides is the founder of Mountain Valley Seed. He grew up in Greece, attending the American Farm School there. After completing school, he immigrated to the United States (1957), where he attended Ricks College in Idaho. While he majored in their pre-veterinary program, he would soon make the change to the plant science industry after not being allowed to work while attending vet school. Instead, Demetrios took a position at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, in the plant science department. Here he specialized in plant genetics and served as president of the employees association. With his experience gained while at Utah State University and his landscaping work, Demo decided to branch off on his own and start his own nursery known as Greek Gardens.
While running this garden center, he noticed many of the varieties being developed by and recommended by Utah State professors were superior to those on the commercial seed market. In an effort to provide the best quality of seeds to his customers, Demetrios and his wife Diane would purchase the same recommended varieties in bulk and hand package them from home to sell. As the popularity of the selected seed varieties spread by word, Demetrios started working with other nurseries outside of the Cache Valley. With business booming he sold his nursery but continued to run the seed division. Greek Gardens became known as Mountain Valley Seed Co.
Business would continue to grow as Demitrios’s commitment to providing quality seed was appreciated by more and more growers. For over 55 years, he was involved in promoting gardening, researching and testing strains, and working to familiarize the general public with the benefits of growing their own food. He specialized in studying vegetable varieties for short growing seasons and promoting them. Demetrios asserted that short-season varieties should grow virtually anywhere.
Conducting hundreds of gardening seminars, Demetrios continued to teach about the value of gardening. He also enjoyed being a guest expert on local radio gardening talk shows. Demetrios also had an insatiable appetite for folk dancing that rivaled his love for growing from seed. Demo sadly passed away in September of 2022 but continues to be missed dearly. Each year True Leaf Market continues to offer a $5,000 scholarship to students pursuing the plant sciences to honor his legacy.
While Demitrios was building the Mountain Valley Seed Co, other valuable businesses in the industry were also growing. The brother-sister duo of Parker Garlitz and Kaitlin Jones kicked off their business wheatgrasskits.com as an e-commerce seed and supplies operation focused on offering everything needed to grow wheatgrass for juicing at home. This duo brought both passion and thought to running a niche seed company. With Parker’s vast experience in Marketing and Kaitlin’s expertise in the value of wheatgrass as an aid for better health, wheatgrasskits.com grew into a thriving cutting-edge online business just as the internet was revolutionizing global technology. (Photo - Parker Garlitz, Kaitlin Jones, Lance Heaton, Robb Baumann 2014)
With a passion for healthy living this duo would eventually acquire the popular sprouting seed company Handy Pantry. Handy Pantry was a brick-and-mortar business first established in 1974. Over 30+ years it would continue to grow in popularity with a reputation for offering high-quality sprouting seeds that could be purchased from certified Handy Pantry retailers and distributors. This new growth would lead Parker and Kaitlin to outgrow their garage and build a warehouse to house the vast sprouting and wheatgrass seed and indoor growing kit operation.
In 2014, Lance Heaton and Robb Baumann, a young college friendship duo, entered the scene in search of a lifestyle business to purchase. After hitting things off with Mountain Valley Seed Co. owner Demetrios Agathangelides, Lance and Robb made the acquisition. Around this time, the duo would cross paths with Parker and Kaitlin. With a shared passion for nature, gardening, and health, these businesses decided to merge, allowing them to offer a more complete selection of garden, sprouting, and wheatgrass seeds along with indoor growing kits. This collective became True Leaf Market.
True Leaf Market formed as a result of several different businesses with their own unique niche seed markets. However, they have always shared the same belief that the joy of growing is for everyone. Whether you grow sprouts, microgreens, wheatgrass, fruits, vegetables, flowers, forage, etc., you deserve high-quality seeds to get the job done. We are continually striving to expand our seed offerings, improve your shopping experience, and meet the needs of home and market growers.
An excerpt from Turning over a 'New Leaf' At Kitazawa Seed Company
From Maya Shiroyama and Jim Ryugo
After long and careful consideration, we decided to look for a new steward for the Kitazawa brand and line of unique Asian varieties, a company that can handle the daily activities and allow us to focus on the part of the business we love. We have decided to entrust the stewardship of Kitazawa to True Leaf Market who has proven their ability to keep many unique varieties in production and quickly get those seeds to customers across the nation. In addition, we were happy that two of the principals with the company have lived in different parts of Asia and have a real love and passion for Asian culture and cuisine.
While the True Leaf Market team handles the day to day, we will continue to be ambassadors for the Kitazawa Brand. As ambassadors, we will continue to provide insights on new seed varieties, Asian food trends and marketing opportunities. Kitazawa Seed Company will be relocated into True Leaf Market’s larger facility in Salt Lake City, to enhance much needed seed handling and packaging improvements, shipping efficiency and a vigorous website. The intent is to ensure the continued availability of these important varieties and make buying Kitazawa branded seeds as seamless and efficient as possible so our customers will benefit from this change.
Before establishing the Kitazawa Seed Company, Gijiu Kitazawa worked as an apprentice for a Japanese seed company. Around 1917 he immigrated to the United States. Once settled in San Jose, California he started selling vegetable seeds from a small, downtown storefront. Local Japanese-American farmers would grow Japanese vegetables throughout the California coast and Central Valley on the poorest farmland in remote areas in an effort to continue preparing traditional Japanese food. Gijiu sold his seeds in manila envelopes with green ink, the same style we continue to use today to honor his legacy. You can see Gijiu and his brother Buemon standing in front of the California storehouse in this image.
Kitazawa Seed Company has overcome many hurdles throughout its history. From 1942 to 1945, the Kitazawa Seed Company was forced to abandon the business due to World War II. The Kitazawa family, along with another 110,000 Japanese-Americans, were removed from their West Coast homes and forced into Relocation Camps per Executive Order 9066. After the war, Kitazawa Seed Company resumed business in San Jose, CA, but many of the former Japanese-American customers had lost their farms and were spread throughout the country. This prompted Gijiu to expand from a brick-and-mortar-only store to offering mail orders. Today Kitazawa seeds are available by mail order and online shopping.
We are constantly looking for new ways to provide the best quality of seeds we can to our customers as we continue to grow each year. 2023 brought the opportunity to merge True Leaf Market with the wholesale production company Seeds by Design, a company founded and built by Patty Buskirk. Patty developed her skills in plant breeding during her time at CSU and Northrup-King Seed Company. With a desire to provide a product of greater quality, Patty set out to start her own seed company focused on catering to the home gardener's needs and wants over the traditional commercially produced varieties. Today Patty leads the True Leaf Market family as CEO, along with partners Robb Baumann, Lance Heaton, Parker Garlitz, and Kaitlin Jones.
Patty established Seeds by Design and its organic sister company Terra Organics in 1994. According to Patty’s Home Garden Association member profile, “Seeds by Design is the only U.S.-based Certified Organic vegetable seed wholesaler that offers a full product line to both domestic and international clients. A smaller portion of Seed by Design’s business is devoted to breeding and producing seed varieties destined for commercial growers’ markets, such as pumpkins and triploid (i.e. seedless) watermelons.” However, most production by Seeds by Design is sold to smaller retailers for distribution to home gardeners and market growers. All breeding and selection is done using conventional breeding methods.
From all of us at True Leaf Market we hope you continue experience the joy of growing in your homes, outdoors, and throughout your communities.
3 comments
After harvesting Garlic in late June, I Planted Daikon and mustard seeds in mid-July, they germinated and are growing nicely. After the Daikon harvest, I will rotate planting the plot with Garlic in the Fall.
I started 50 years ago with your company as the Seed Lady of Watts.
My 1st Seeds outside of my Tribe were purchased from you!
I am celebrating My 50th Anniversary with you 💕
God bless your Hands!!
Anna Marie🌹